Romanza
by Lauren the Oxymoron
Summary: Upon return to Sydney some unexpected turns change Charlie and Claire's relationship as they know it.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I think we've established pretty firmly that I don't own Lost.

A/N:Yes, it's me again. I know what you're thinking, another new story when she already has another one up that being neglected? Yes, that's very true, Confluence has been neglected...it's been, what, a month since my last update? Well, I'm going to try and keep that going, but right now I like the one that I'm putting up right now better so if I continue updating, it'll most likely be on this one. But Confluence will be back...just might be a bit. Anyhow, I wrote this in the dead hours of night, so if it's really confusing, or really bad, I blame it on that. Oh, in case you're wondering the title, Romanza, means romance and is pronounced: rohm-on-za. Piano is my life, and Romanze is my favorite song to play. Cookies for anyone who knows who composed the song!

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**Romanza**

A sunrise with a brilliant display of blood reds, burnt oranges, deep golden yellows, and light purples greeted Flight # 815's remaining passengers as the cruise liner that had rescued them from the island docked in Sydney.

Tears, hugs, laughter, and cries of 'Oh, thank god you're alright!' surrounded Claire. Her 9-month-old son, Aaron, was fast asleep against her shoulder despite the flurry of activity. Claire scanned the faces of the crowd, hoping to see someone, anyone, from her past to com and see her after 10 months of being 'presumed dead'. But no one was there, not her parents, not her friend Abby, not even Richard Malkin, the person singly responsible for getting her into this whole predicament. Well, she supposed Thomas had a lot to do with it, for getting her pregnant, and Abby a little bit, for dragging her over to Malkin's.

The lack of a person she knew presented Claire with a problem. She had no where to stay, no money, and a 9-month-old to care for. Her only option was to ask one of her friends from the island if she could stay with them. But as she watched all her friends get reunited with their friends and family she couldn't pluck up the courage to go over to them and disturb their newly found peace.

Hurley was giving an older woman a bone crushing hug, hugging her so fiercely that her feet weren't even touching the ground. A huge grin was spread over his face, the happiest Claire had ever seen him.

Sun was with her husband who was hugging and elderly Korean man with a weathered face. Jin had a mixed expression of shock, joy, and grief on his face. After Jin released him he turned to Sun and immediately embraces her which, Claire observed, seemed to shock her a bit. Claire knew, because of the 10 months she had spent with Sun, that in the Korean culture you usually weren't so intimate and Claire wondered who the man was to them.

Kate was talking to an elderly man with a fake arm. They hugged and Claire got a good look at Kate's face. She had a look of surprise and happiness on her face and Claire could see that her eyes were glistening, filled with tears. Kate was a very guarded person and Claire wondered how this man opened Kate up like she seemed to be with him.

Shannon was talking to a woman in her lat e 50's, keeping a distance from her although she was crying into her hands. Shannon herself looked grieved, but couldn't quite bring herself to tears. Claire's only guess was that this was Boone's mother.

Then she saw the last, but best of her friends. Charlie was clinging tightly to lanky man who was clinging just as tightly to Charlie; both were crying. She could hear the man's loud, boyish voice ring out: "I thought you were dead, and it was all my fault!" in a British accent, thick with emotion. This must be his brother. She couldn't just walk up in the middle of this emotional reunion and ask to live with Charlie.

Then she heard a voice shout: "Claire!" from behind her. She turned around and saw the last person she wsanted to see right now.

Aaron began to fuss now, he had been sleeping peacefully until HE walked back into their lives. Aaron was crying and flailing his little limbs about.

"Shhh…" Claire comforted him, moving him to the crook of her arm and rocking him gently flitting her eyes up occasionally to look at the man who was fast approaching her. "I see you know when your father's around," Claire said in an undertone as Aaron's wails rose higher and higher with each step he took towards them.

"Claire," he said now two feet in front of her, the closest they had been since he left her.

"Thomas," she replied, trying to keep eye contact and appear stronger than she felt. But she couldn't ignore her son who was now screaming louder than thought possible for a person his size. She looked down at Aaron and continued to comfort him. She felt Thomas's eyes fall down to look at the baby too.

"Is this our baby?" Thomas asked.

Claire wished that she had the courage to scoff at him, roll her eyes, and say sarcastically, "No, it's a different baby." But she didn't have that courage so she simply said, "Aaron", leaving even the 'our' part of Thomas's comment uncorrected.

Claire looked up at Thomas and watched as he looked down at Aaron. What was that, a look of amazement on his face? A look of fatherly adoration? What was this whole act anyway? Coming to get her, acting as if he cared about the baby. Was this just some act to make up for what he did? To win her back?

"Could I hold him?" Thomas asked, glancing up at Claire.

"No, he's already all worked up and an unfamiliar face would scare him," Claire said, noticing with some satisfaction that Thomas cringed a bit as she ever so subtly reminded him that he had been missing in Aaron's life.

"So, Claire, do you have a place to stay?"

Claire didn't know how to answer. If she told him the truth, that she didn't, he would have her come to live with him, not taking no as an answer. And the last thing she wanted to do was move back in with him. But if she lied, he would probably detect it in a second, she was a horrible liar, and the problem of where to stay would still be unsolved. But suddenly, come luck finally came her way.

"She's staying with me," a warm British voice answered, wrapping an arm around Claire's waist. Aaron quieted immediately seeing Charlie's face and smiled up at him.

"Who's he?" Thomas asked, noticing the grin on Aaron's face and the arm around Claire, both of whom Thomas felt were his. That anger streak began to shine through Thomas's sugary great-dad-and-wonderful-boyfriend act.

"This is Charlie. Charlie, Thomas," Claire said watching Thomas look at Charlie with obvious dislike.

"Her boyfriend," Charlie said, completely throwing Claire for a loop and doubling Thomas's anger.

Claire looked up at Charlie trying not to look as surprised as she felt, knowing that Thomas would see right through this lie.

Charlie took advantage of the fact that Claire's face was turned up to his and leaned down and kissed her. Everything was happening so fast and thoughts were flying wildly through Claire's head: What's Thomas thinking? Will Charlie really let me stay with him? Why is Charlie doing this, that it took a bit for her to respond to Charlie's kiss. But when she finally came to, she really reacted. She stopped thinking about Thomas, she nearly forgot he was there, she stopped worrying about where she and Aaron would be sleeping, all she thought about was Charlie and kissing him back. All the romantic tension that had built up on the island crumbled and came tumbling down as Charlie ended the kiss with a couple quick pecks. After the kiss ended Charlie and Claire continued to look at one another, the passion and truth about the feelings they felt for one another throbbing in their hearts, pounding through their veins and finally spilling out of their eyes.

"That was a lovely performance," Thomas said sarcastically, finally peeling Claire and Charlie's eyes off of one another.

"Is that a call for an encore?" Charlie responded sarcastically and turned his face back towards Claire.

"Claire, I want you to come back with me. We'll get married, buy an enormous house, have lots more kids, raise them together, watch them grow up, and love one another until we die. We'll have the life you've always dreamed of," Thomas pleaded with Claire, ignoring Charlie's comment.

But Claire had finally found her courage, thanks to Charlie. "I'm afraid that's no longer an option. You've long since turned from that life with me."

* * *

A/N: That's all I've got for now. I'm not sure when the next update will be. I like to write really late at night so I'll see if I can write some more tonight. Reviews would be nice...hint, hint.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: In Chapter One

A/N: I didn't originally start this chapter to be a filler, but that's sort of what it became. So sorry it's kinda boring. And really short. But I've got a plan for the next chapter so I'm hoping that I'll be able to get that one finished quickly and up and that it won't be as boring or so short. Oh, in case you're wondering, Romanze was composed by Beethoven.

**Chapter Two**

"So, have you got a place to stay?" Charlie asked, turning to Claire who was watching Thomas's retreating back. Her mind was still whirling, what with Thomas's little charade, the kiss, finally standing up to Thomas… But mainly because of the kiss.

Sure, she and Charlie and been very close these last 10 months but it wasn't until all these emotions were bubbling up through her did she realize that she had suppressed and hidden the truth about her feelings from Charlie and even herself. But, although she finally found the truth, she was more confused than ever! Did Charlie reciprocate these newly found feelings? Is that why he kissed her? Or was it just so he could help her with the Thomas problem? But even if that were so, hadn't he felt he same passion radiating between them? Because when he kissed he, it seemed real to Claire. She had felt it with every second the kiss had lasted, the pent-up passion, the bottled desire from the 10 long months on the island, even if she had been unaware of it while it was building up. But if Charlie did feel the same way about her that raised some more problems. Would they become a couple? Would he be Aaron's dad? Would she be willing to start up a new relationship when all fo her past ones were so painful?

"Claire?" Charlie said.

"Huh?" Claire replied, so tangled up in her thoughts she hadn't even refistered his question earlier.

"Do you have anywhere to stay?" he repeated.

"Oh…um, no," Claire admitted, a little embarrassed that no one cared enough to come for her after being dead 10 months.

"Well, you're wrong. Remember, I asked you ages ago," Charlie informed her.

"Oh, yeah," Claire said slowly, the memory resurfacing. "Yeah, you could stand for another haircut again," Claire teased him looking critically at his long bangs that hung in his eyes and hair that fell just below the nape of his neck.

"Yeah…well…maybe you need a haircut!" Charlie retorted defensively, not able to come up with a better comeback.

Claire snorted, "Oh, Charlie, what ever am I going to do with you?"

"Give me a haircut apparently," Charlie said sarcastically in an undertone.

"Ah!" Claire cried in indignation and lightly slapped him with that back of her hand that wasn't cradling Aaron. Charlie staggered backwards dramatically, making fun of Claire. She glared menacingly at him, trying not to let that smile tugging at the corner of her lips become too obvious. He returned her glare and they locked their gaze, trying to make the other the first to burst out laughing. It happened simultaneously though.

"C'mon, you gotta meet my brother! We're gonna stay with him," Charlie said, breaking away from Claire and leading her over to the man she had seen him hugging earlier.

"Claire, this is Liam, the biggest ponce you'll ever meet. And Liam, this is Claire," Charlie introduced.

After throwing a scathing look at Charlie, though the smile he tried to hide gave him away , he turned and gave Claire a cheeky wink and grin, the brotherly resemblance pulling through strong.

"Hello, Claire. Charlie's been here for a half an hour and for the past 25 minutes all he's talked about is you," Liam said, and Claire laughed lightly.

"Liam!" Charlie hissed at his brother.

"Oops!" Liam said and then leaned in to Claire, "Don't tell him I told you!" he whispered loud enough so that Charlie heard him.

"See, what did I tell you? Biggest ponce you'll ever meet," Charlie said, shaking his head exasperatly.

* * *

Claire combed out her wet tangled hair. It was late at night. Aaron had been bathed, fed, and was now asleep and content, so Claire had some time to sort out her thoughts. 

Charlie introduced Claire to Liam's wife, Karen, as a friend. So is that what they were? Or had he just said that because he didn't know where Claire stood with everything? But what had she expected, 'This is my future wife, Claire."? But did he just want to be friends? If that were so, why did he kiss her, and why had she felt so much because of it?

There was a knock on her door and she turned and watched Charlie slip in through a small crack. Claire smiled at him and he walked over to her, but paused briefly to look down at Aaron and gently smooth down the duck fluff hair on his head.

"Just came to see if you needed anything," Charlie explained.

"Nope, everything's good."

"Okay, so you're comfortable? Do you want a glass of water? Anything to eat? Want me to sing a lullaby?"

Claire laughed. "Everything's fine, Charlie." He nodded and they lapsed into silence. Claire decided if there was ever a time, it was now. "Charlie, earlier today, with Thomas--"

"It was nothing, love. Just trying to help you out, I knew you didn't want to go with him, and I figured if I said I was your boyfriend he would back off. And we had to show him in words and actions. And I have to say, we really did show him!" Charlie explained in a quick, hasty rush.

"Oh," Claire explained, a little disappointed, well, very disappointed. "Well--um, thanks for helping me get away from him. And for letting me stay with you," Claire said, feeling that she had to say more than 'oh'

"Anything for a friend." Charlie said with a bright smile.

A friend.

"Well, I'm tired," Claire said, heaving a huge, fake yawn. She didn't really want Charlie around right now.

"Right. G'night, love," he said and slipped out of the room.

It was nothing! It hadn't felt like nothing! Was he really that good of an actor? And if that was acting, what else had been? All those little moments on the island that had her so over the moon for him? Had he been stringing her along all this time? But Claire knew that it was partly her fault for this too. She knew better than to trust a hot-blooded male!But she had been so happy just to be his friend before, couldn't she just settle for that now? She knew she couldn't really, not now that she had thought of him as more than that. But, obviously, that's all he wanted to be.

A friend.

But she really couldn't come forward with all of this to Charlie. She was living here because of him and if he got angry, and Claire knew he possessed a trait for hotheadedness (or was that acting too?) then she might be back with no where to stay. But, she couldn't keep it all inside either! She really needed a new journal, badly!

How could one little kiss (although it hadn't been all that little to Claire) completely change everything? But had Claire really expected to get married to Charlie, have him adopt Aaron, have lots more babies and lead well, basically the life Thomas had painted out for Claire and him. Although Claire denied it she secretly knew a small region of her mind had believed that.

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A/N: I guess it wasn't as short as I was anticipating…but it was mainly just Claire thinking. I hope it wasn't to ramble-y, cuz I'm a huge rambler, and so I'm thinking that's mainly all this chapter was. And I hope it wasn't overly-dull. Oh well, no worries...I should have the next chapter out soon I hope!

Sorry I can't do adaquate review responses but I really gotta run and I want to get this up so thanks to everyone who reveiwed and CCLover4Ever, you're the greatest!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer**-** See Chapter 1

A/N- No, I haven't died. I'm just a horrible, horrible hypocrite. I thought that I would be able to get this chapter written up soon because I knew what I wanted to do with it, but sometimes when you know what you want, it just won't translate onto paper. But I finally got it written and typed up as soon as possible, to not keep you all waiting even longer. Just so you know, I'm going to be on vacation from July 24th to August 4th so I prolly won't get in a new chapter, but maybe I'll be nice and write up a lot so that I can post lots of chapters really soon and you'll all love me! But as we just established, I'ma hypocrite, sodon'tget your hopes up!

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**Chapter Three**

Claire woke in a sleepy stupor. The mattress she was on was so soft after the hard cave floor she had used for a bed for 10 months, the dreams she had were so much sweeter than the horrors that had been reality on the island, and the morning sun's rays were much more comforting then the damp stuffiness that had suffocated her in her island bedroom.

Too soon she was jolted from her sleep-induced musings as she gazed over to the handmade cradle to watch her son only too see that it was empty. Maybe it was just from the last hazy stages of sleep, maternal instincts, or that her mindset was still that of the island but her first thought was, "He's been kidnapped!"

As quick as lightning she stripped off the blankets, sprinted down the hall and down the stairs to the kitchen, figuring she'd find Charlie there and then he would be there to help her to get Aaron back (as always).

The sight that met her was better then the drama that was unfolding in her brain, however. Aaron sat in a highchair slowly eating sliced bananas and strawberries, getting most of it on his chubby cheeks. Karen was bustling around him trying to prepare breakfast while Megan was getting underfoot.

"Morning, Claire, Charlie and Liam are out getting some milk, they'll be back in a couple minutes," Karen said, glancing briefly up from her cooking. Claire hardly registered Karen's greeting at all, she was so centered on Aaron and the fact that he was alive and well and completely perfect. She lifted him out of the highchair and twirled him around so that he giggled wildly.

"He was fussing this morning and I took him so you could sleep. I hope that his absence didn't scare you," Karen said, still preoccupied by the pancakes and bacon that she was preparing and Megan, who was pulling on Karen's jeans.

"I was a little scared," Claire said, feeling too stupid to admit that she had thought that she would never see her son and his innocent perfection again, which now seemed absolutely insane. "I'm so paranoid after 10 months on the island," Claire explained returning Aaron to his chair and breakfast and then going to help Karen with breakfast.

"Yeah, Charlie filled us in with everything that happened on the island. Among other things," Karen said, finally looked up from her tasks to smile suggestively at Claire.

"Oh?" Claire said trying not sound overly-curious as to what Charlie had told his family about her, be it good or bad, for it was undoubtedly her he had talked about.

"Yeah, about the way you two got rid of that Thomas guy," Karen explained.

"Oh, that," Claire said blushing wildly, trying to hide it by busying herself by beating the pancake batter Karen had abandoned.

"Yeah, that," Karen said nudging Claire playfully. They lapsed into silence, Karen looking hard at Claire, trying to get her to crack and dish all the details, while Claire was trying to ignore her by beating the batter, which was more than beaten already.

"What?" Claire said, trying to sound innocent, and looking up at Karen, which proved to be her downfall.

"I know he went to your bedroom at the dead of night last night, now tell what he said! You guys are together now, right!" Karen said, bearing a huge grin.

"No, he actually made it quite clear that we're just friends," Claire said, trying not to show the disappointed in her voice. Karen scoffed disbelievingly. "No, really, Karen!" Claire said with a small, humorless laugh. She wasn't exactly sure why she was admitting this to someone she hardly knew, she didn't even like to admit it to herself. But she had no one else to talk to, not even a journal to write it in, and Karen seemed like the best candidate.

"What exactly did he say to you?" Karen asked, as if she was a detective, completely foregoing the meal she was making and her daughter who was trying desperately to earn her mother's attention.

"He said "It was nothing" and "That's what friends are for"," Claire quoted, emphasizing friends and nothing, which was what she now was to Charlie.

"How exactly did he say it?" Karen question further, stressing the exactly, uncannily reminding Claire of all those detective shows she used to watch.

"Umm…In English?" Claire said, unsure what exactly Karen was getting at.

"No no no. Was it how he normally talks to you or was it fast and high-pitched?"

"I don't know!" Claire cried exasperatly, "I don't analyze everything he says! I generally just accept it as the truth."

"Oh, hon, he was lying!" Karen exclaimed with a laugh. Claire gave her a skeptical look. "Claire, I've heard him talk about you. It's not in a strictly platonic way," she argued her case.

"Well, maybe that's true, but he doesn't act that way around me, so it's going to stay 'just friends' until he does," Claire said stubbornly.

"Claire, he does act that way around you! You're just in denial!" Karen said, then added after a pause, "Or maybe you just don't want to see it."

Claire lowered her gaze and mulled over the thought. Was she not wanting to see it? But she did want to be with Charlie, so how could not want to see it? But maybe subconsciously she didn't want to see it because of all of her past failures.

"Charlie told us about Thomas," Karen said gently, guessing Claire's train of thought. "Do you think maybe because of him you're scared of starting something with Charlie?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Everything's just so messed up in my mind and nothing makes sense!" Claire said miserably. "Why can't Charlie just tell me how he really feels?"

"That's not built into male DNA, unfortunately," Karen sighed, patting Claire on the shoulder. "Maybe you should make the first move?"

"That's not built into my DNA."

"Then you're stuck in this misery until Charlie gets the courage to make the first move. That could be awhile," Karen said, turning back to breakfast and Megan. Claire sighed and thought through all that she and Karen had just been over.

* * *

"Liam, the reason I came with you is because I…um, you see, I need…I need you to…help me," Charlie finally spat out with difficulty, a look on his face as if an internal struggle was raging on inside him.

"With what?" Liam asked, not trying at all to hide his smug, self-satisfied smile. Charlie noticed it and tried to ignore it, knowing that if he let it get to him he wouldn't be able to get through this mess.

"Well, with Claire," Charlie said slowly not willing to concede too much information to his brother; he was prone to using it against him.

"What could possibly be wrong in the paradise that is you and Claire?" Liam said, not able to resist teasing his brother. Again Charlie let the comment bounce off of him, but kept it built up in his mind so that he could make Liam pay for it later.

"Well…okay, I told you, and I'm sure you saw anyway, about how I kissing Claire. Well, I figured after that, you know, we'd just get together. But last night Cliare asked me about it and I told her that it was nothing and that I just did it as a friend," Charlie said, refusing to look Liam in the eye.

"Why did you tell her that?" Liam said, putting on his serious side, knowing that Charlie really needed and wanted his advice and help.

"I panicked! What else was I supposed to tell her?"

"I don't know, the truth?"

"Well, I hardly know what the truth about everything is!"

"The truth is that you're hopelessly in love with her and you want to sweep her off her feet and ride into the sunset and then you'll have lots of sex and babies and live happily ever after."

"How did you know that?"

Liam laughed, "Everyone knows that, well, maybe not Claire yet, but it's your job to tell her."

"But I already screwed it up!" Charlie cried, "It's too late!"

"Well, what happened after you lied to her and totally messed up a situation that seemed almost impossible to mess up, even for you?"

"Thanks for making me feel better," Charlie said sarcastically, then sighed, "Well, truth be told--"

"As should have happened that night!" Liam cut in, earning him a punch in the shoulder. "Hey! I'm driving here!"

"Shut up, stop being such a girl!…Okay, well, anyway, she sounded a little upset. She sent me away right away."

"Okay, that's not the greatest sign," Liam said then seeing Charlie horrified expression, hastily added, "But it's still fixable." Relief crossed Charlie's face as Liam continued on, "Well, if she got disappointed it means that she wanted the sex and babies too. So, right now she might be a little crushed and might hate you a little bit, but if you tell her the truth quickly you'll still have a shot at the sex and babies. Just tell her the truth, and fast!"

"Liam, look who you're talking to!" Charlie said, the horrified expression back on his face.

"Right," Liam sighed, "This might be a bit more complicated than I thought."

* * *

A/N- That little scenerio that Liam painted out for Charlie (ride into the sunset, lots of sex and babies)I once said to a friend of mine, and I had to put it in there, to humor her if she ever decides to read this.

To my lovely reviewers-

Butterfly Butter- You're such a sweetheart! But you know, maybe you're English isn't that good if you like my fic so much...no, I'm just kidding! I'm soo jealous of the fact that you know two languages!Americans are soo ignorant, it drives me up the wall! I guess I do know sign language, does thatcount as a language?Well, you are the person who motivated me to write this chapter so thanks for that much needed boost!

Mia- Coolest story ever? Wow, that's quite a title! But thank you so much for that, I'm glad it's well liked, because most of my stories I won't post until I've scrutinized every little thing, and they rarely make it on this site but this one I didn't do that to and have since been worried that it's not good enough, but yourcomment makes me rest assured, so I'll definitely keep writing it!

jou65- I'm sure the truth will come out soon, she's started admitting, by talking to Karen so the next step will to be to finally tell Charlie! Believe me, I'm dying with anticipation for the moment too, because I don't know when it's going to happen either, and I'm the one in control! So, keep reading, it'll come up soon!

Takako- Charlie and Claire moments do seem to make the day, or mine at least. I mean, who can resist them! Of course I'll continue, when there's a shortage of Charlie/Claire moments, I tend to write my own, so for once that will actually be productive!

Charlie & his Claire- First off, love the name! And thanks for the compliment. I hope the way that I write the characters is a good way, and I don't make them to weird, as products of my imagination too often are! And yes, the kiss has changed the way they see each other, hope I'm doing okay with that!

Mome-wrath- To my ff dot net best friend (I've dubbed you that, hope you don't mind) Yes, the chapters ARE plotting against us, I hope this one showed up for you, because Chapter Three of your story showed up for me, it's only fair that mine does the same for you! Yes, Liam rocks my socks too, and he's in this chapter too, though not as much, so I hope he rocked the socks right off you...if you're wearing any, summer and socks doesn't really go together. Naming your kid Turniphead, haha, I think when they got older they might rebel and kill you though, if your mom doesn't do that first! Love ya, keep reading, and you know I will!

CCLover4Ever- Yes, I think most of us all do want Charlie! Who could deny him in his utter perfection? Not me, that's for sure! Thanks for the review and keep reading! I'm really looking forward to seeing your reviews!

Eyeris- You reviewed the first chapter, and I hope that you're still with me! Since I didn't respond last update I thought I would now (obviously...haha) Yes, the Thomas/Charlie dynamic could be interesting, don't think you've seen the last of him!

EllaJ.W- Yes,it'sveryeasy to get worked up over Thomas, and I completely agree that Charlie did the right thingin getting rid ofhim!Hope you're still reading!

angelwriter2492- Thanks so much,and I hopeyou readmy two new updates!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer- See Chapter 1

A/N- Ah, I'm finally back with an update! This took waaay longer than I expected. I had about a thousand versions of this chapter but this finally won out.And then I went on my vacation andsomehow when I got back I developed a life. It was sooo strange! But I finally got this typed up and the next update shouldn't be too long, because I already have it written out, just have to get it typed up and all that jazz, so within a week I should have it up, and I really hope I don't eat those words next week! So...um, I'll let you get to the next chapter...

* * *

**Chapter Four**

The banging of a car door, closely followed by a tremendous crash and a steady stream of swear words jarred Claire from her thoughts that never seemed to sort out, no matter how long she went over them.

"That'll be Liam," Karen said rolling her eyes. "He can't go two steps without making some loud crash or bang. He's literally a human hurricane." Claire laughed along with Karen and began helping her get everything out and ready to be set on the table.

The door banged open and Liam shouted (quite unnecessarily, seeing as Claire and Karen were about 10 feet away) "We're home!"

"So we see," Karen said taking the milk from her husband and giving him a kiss in thanks. "Now, you two go set the table, breakfast will be ready in a minute," Karen ordered them.

Liam took the plates off of the kitchen table and walked through the kitchen to the dining room. "C'mon Meg, time to eat," he said as he passed her, tugging at her mum's pants, still trying to get her attention. She happily abandoned her attempt and followed her dad. Charlie grabbed the silverware. As he passed Claire he gave her a smile and wink, nearly knocking Claire off of her feet because her knees suddenly gave way.

_C'mon, Claire, it's only Charlie. You were around him everyday for 10 months straight. It's just the same old Charlie._

But it wasn't just the same old Charlie. Whether or not she liked to admit it, her perception of him had changed with that one kiss. He was no longer Charlie, her best friend from the island that she could always depend on to cheer her up when was down or help her out when she became completely overwhelmed with Aaron. Sure, he would still do that for her, but now she wanted more than just that, she wanted a relationship with him. In all the countless hours she had spent straightening her thoughts out that was the only thing that she was entirely sure of. She wanted Charlie, only him, to be there as Aaron went through his milestones of life and while her life changed and matured, presumably because of him. They just had to get over that hurdle between friendship to a relationship.

Claire finally regained control of her legs and she brought Aaron out to the table and helped Karen serve the food. Finally everything was set up for the meal and they dug in.

"How about we take the kids to the park and have a picnic today? Aaron still hasn't seen much more of the real world besides our backyard." Karen spoke out halfway through the meal.

"Yeah, I wanna go to the park!" Megan said looking pleadingly at her parents.

"I think it's a great idea," Claire said.

"It's settled then. We'll all go to the park this afternoon. All of us," Karen said shooting a pointed look at her husband who sat opposite her, a look on his face that plainly said he'd rather stay home and watch TV.

"Of course, it'll be a charming afternoon," Liam said with a cheesy cartoonish smile.

* * *

Liam and Charlie were on the front lawn, attempting to get the strollers in working order and, being them, making it much more difficult than it should have been.

"How do you get this bloody thing open?" Liam asked, attempting to pry it apart with his hands.

"You expect me to know? You're the one who's used strollers for four years now, you should bloody well know by now," Charlie replied a little agitated himself seeing as his attempt to open the stroller for Aaron wasn't going any better than Liam's was.

"Oh, bugger it, it's no use. Karen will figure it out," Liam said, abandoning the stroller to go and sit on the front stoop. Charlie followed his lead and sat down beside his brother.

"This afternoon will be the perfect time to tell her. I mean, think about it, you'll be surrounded by wives and husbands and their kids and since that's what you're proposing for the two of you it's the perfect atmosphere in which to bring it up."

"You're right…but what do I say?" Charlie asked, sounding a little desperate.

"That you're hopelessly in love with her and want to have lots of sex and babies."

"Liam, I can't say that!" Charlie exclaimed.

"Well, just tell her how you feel. It doesn't have to be rehearsed. In fact, the more spontaneous the better. But you still want to get the hopelessly in love/sex and babies point across."

"But when I'm nervous nothing comes out right! I stutter and my voice get high and I do the weird laugh and look completely idiotic and if she sees me like that she'll never say yes to me! And there's no way that I won't be nervous, I'm nervous just thinking about it. I mean, it's a pretty big thing, telling someone that you love them. And it's not just someone, it's Claire. She's more important then any other girl has ever been."

"Well, just talk to her like you normally would. My god, Charlie, how'd you survive on the island for 10 months if talking to Claire was such a problem? You were hopelessly in love with her then too, weren't you?"

"Yes, but on the island I had all the time in the world. I could take my time letting feelings get stronger, to make a good friendship, really get to know her, just take things really slowly because there was no where she could go, no matter what I'd wake up and know that she'd still be there. But now it's different. Claire could get up and leave and I'd never see her again and she would never know the truth and I would never know what potentially could have happened between us. Seeing Thomas there really threw that into perspective for me. She might've left with him if I hadn't stepped in!"

"And that's why I've been telling you to tell her quickly! Like this afternoon for instance, don't worry so much about what to say, just get it out there. Take your own advice."

Charlie nodded and at that moment the door behind them opened and Karen and Claire came out, Claire holding Aaron and Megan in tow.

"You still haven't got the strollers ready?" Karen asked, disbelievingly.

"Well, we tried but the bloody things wouldn't work!" Liam said in self-defense.

"You two are hopeless!" Karen said, laughing along with Claire. The two walked down the stoop between the brothers and got the strollers open in less than two seconds, each with only one hand while Liam gaped and then exclaimed, "How d'you do that!"

* * *

Their afternoon at the park was soon coming to a close. Aaron hadn't been much interested in the slides and swings, he was more content to sit in either Charlie's of Claire's laps while watching the world go on around him with wide eyes, babbling excitedly when he saw such strange things as bikes or cars or the ducks sitting on the small pond.

After his full day of discovery he was fast asleep on the blanket they had spread out. Megan, however, still had lots of energy and was running her parents ragged as they followed her all over the park. Charlie and Claire watched them, amused.

"Claire," Charlie said, knowing that if he wanted to bring it up tonight there was no better time than now. The symptoms of nervousness he had described to Liam were starting, ten times worse than he could have possibly explained.

"Hmm?" she replied, turning her head to face him, a hint of a smile on her lips. She looked amazing, the soft evening breeze tousling her butter-colored hair which was fringed with gold sunlight from the setting sun, giving her skin a gorgeous glow. All of this just made Charlie all the more nervous and worsened his current state.

"I-I've been meaning to t-talk with you--"

All of a sudden he was cut off by the obnoxious ring tone of the cell phone of someone nearby. Charlie broke his eye contact with Claire and silence ensued as the person answered their phone.

"You were saying, Charlie?" Claire prompted him.

But his courage had faltered, "It was nothing."

* * *

A/N- How lame was that thing with Charlie and Liam not being able to get open the strollers? Hahaha.Oh well, I sort of liked it there for some reason. Anyway, I guess that's all I have to say...drop me a review!

To my lovely reviewers-

CCnJexie4Ever- You're still CCLuva to me!(yeah, I know it was really CCLovER, but Ialways just said Luva for some reason, you know, cuz I'm soo ghetto, lol) I whole heartedly agree that we need a kiss, and fast! And it sure as hell better be before Kate gets her action, I hate Kate! I really like Evie but Kate...grr. And I'm soo sorry I made you wait for over a month for this chapter, but you'll have another update really soon, I promise!

Butterfly Butter- Hey, I e-mailed you a reeeally long time ago and I added you to my Messenger but I haven't heard from you! Oh, and you're gonna have to e-mail me whatever you made me cuz fanfiction dot net doesn't let you give out places on the Internet or something like that, I dunno, it's weird, so if you e-mail it to me it should work out fine and dandy! Well, I hope you liked this chapter and I hope to hear from you soon!

Mome-wrath- I still owe you a review for your last chapter of Deja Vu, I didn't forget! I'm just being really negligent but I promise that you'll be hearing from me sooner than later. Oh, I'm glad you loved the nickname, ff dot net best friend...hmm, that's to long to type out...oh, I got it! FFBF! That rules! Liam's all serious in this chapter, so he's not so much fun as usual, but whatever! Talk to you soon!

Charlie & his Claire- Oh my gosh, you're review really shows me how behind I am in updating this story! Harry Potter had just come out, oh, that's really depressing! Summer's almost over...but that does mean the start of Lost...so I guess there's some good to that. I'm glad that the characters are believeable, although Liam seems a little weird to me in this. Oh well, no worries...haha, that's becoming my motto! Well, I promise a sooner update next time!

CrazyWomanLovesYou- Glad you're loving the story, it's good to get reviews such as yours, lets me know that I'm doing something right! And I'm really sorry this took soo long to get up, and I promise that I'll have the next update really soon. I've been promising that a lot, I better stick to it otherwise I'll have lots of people after me, haha!

BrittyWeasley- Thanks for reviewing and sorry this chapter was so delayed, next one will be up soon, as soon as I get enough reviews.

Zoaster The Toaster- Thanks for the review, I'm glad you like it so far, hope this hasn't changed that. And I'll keep going, the next chapter will be up soon.

jou65- Thanks for the review. There's lots of awesome CC stories out there, I'm not sure if I would calibrate myself as number one...but you can! Thanks a lot, hope you like the update!

Laura- Yeah, I get the vibe that he likes her better on the show too, but I don't care, I like it this way for some reason. Thanks for the review, hope you keep reading.

Lostaway- Aw, you're so sweet and you're going to make ME cry over here, lol! Thanks for the review, hope you like the update, give me another review and I'll love you (haha, that rhymed)

FluffLover- Thanks a lot for your review, I glad you like it so much! I hope in my overlong absense you didn't completely lose interest in the story!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer- See Chapter One

A/N- Um...nothing really to say...for once I kept my promise, it has been less than a week! It is imperative that you read the A/N at the end of this chapter and then review and give me feedback, ok! But you must read this chapter before anything else...

* * *

**Chapter Five**

"So?" Liam said expectantly the next morning while the women were chattering away in the kitchen and feeding the kids, enough of a distraction to ensure them a few minutes to talk.

"Nothing," Charlie answered sullenly, flipping through the channels on TV, allowing no more than 5 seconds to each channel.

"Nothing? As in nothing nothing or something nothing?" When he received no answer he snatched the remote from Charlie and turned off the TV to gain his full attention.

"Hey!" Charlie said trying to make a grab for it, but Liam held it over his head making his mood even worse by reminded Charlie that he was about a foot taller.

"I swear you're menstrual!" Liam said, not helping Charlie cheer up any more. "Now, tell me what happened!"

"You're way too involved in this, you know," Charlie replied angrily.

"You're the one who made me involved! And I'm not going to be un-involved until you woo your girl! Now tell me what happened!"

"I told you, nothing! I mean, I almost told her, but some guy's cell phone rang and it wrecked the moment and I couldn't do it!"

"Charlie, what's wrong with you! It shouldn't be this difficult!"

"It's me though! I mean, I've done a lot of things dealing with woman, but never love. And I realize why now, it's more difficult! With those other girls it didn't matter what I said, or how I came off to them because in the end we wouldn't end up together. I never wanted a relationship with any of them, and I do with this girl and everything is new to me. This is very, very different. Different intentions, different type of girl, different feelings, and really, a different me. And I'm afraid if I tell her I'll lose her."

"Well, tell her because you won't lose her then!" Liam said, raising his voice. He was immediately shushed by Charlie and they both looked towards the kitchen, but there was no sign of Karen and Claire having heard Liam. Lowering his voice, he continued, "You do realize that if you don't tell her there's more chance of her finding another guy or leaving because nothing is happening between the two of you?"

"Yeah, I realize that…but I just keep running through a million bad-case scenarios in my head!"

"Do you actually have solid proof that she would say no?"

"Umm…"

"Exactly, you don't. There's more pointing to the chance she'll say yes. You can't just think of the negatives and seeing as you two have known each other for awhile I'm sure she'd at least be willing to give a more than platonic relationship a shot. And if that happens, and it doesn't work out, you'll most likely remain friends. And if you're nervous or something, try telling her without words. Trust me, Charlie, you have a lot going for you. She wouldn't be living with you if she didn't like you."

"So you think I have a good chance?"

"I think it's practically a given that she'll say yes. Now, I'm going to open one last window of opportunity for you. If you don't tell her then, you'll have to work it out without my help."

"I thought you said that you'd be involved until I wooed her," Claire retorted, earning a glare from Liam. "Well, I hope you're better at opening windows of opportunity than at opening a stroller."

* * *

Claire spoon-fed Aaron, a very difficult task seeing as he was used to just using his hands, while Karen poured a bowl of cereal for Megan, while the two adults talked about everything and nothing. It had been such a long time since Claire had had someone to talk to like that that it became the best thing about the "real world", better than actual mattresses, running water, even better than chocolate. On the island Charlie was her only real friend, the only one she would have actual conversations with, sure the other females were nice; but they only said "Hi" every now and then, not wanting to become too friendly for fear of becoming a baby-sitter. And even though Charlie said that that probably wasn't true, Claire knew it was by the way their eyes slid down to Aaron, who was always crying or fussing or pulling on her hair, and then back up to Claire with a hurried smile and then rushed away, the only exception being Sun, who would take Aaron for a little while, but none too often.

But Karen and Claire clicked immediately which Claire was extremely grateful for because she needed someone to share her newfound feelings for Charlie with.

"It's just so frustrating! Really, Karen, if major something doesn't happen soon I might have to estrange myself from Charlie. Because somehow it's just not the same talking to him when what I really want to do is reach out and kiss him!"

"Why don't you be the one to do the something major then?" Karen suggested, raising an eyebrow.

"Karen, let's be serious here," Claire joked and smiled, glad to have a same sex friend to joke around with again.

Silence ensued broken only by Claire making soft, encouraging sounds to get Aaron to eat and him trying his hardest to grab it with his hands.

"Ugh!" Claire cried exasperatly, "He will have the worst table manners in history!" Karen laughed along with Claire.

"Hello, ladies," Liam said, walking into the kitchen with Charlie right behind, "And gentlemen," he added with a nod towards Aaron.

"What do you want to eat for breakfast? You better be able to get it for yourself, because I'm not making it," Karen said.

"Oh, nothing right now. Baby brother and I just hatched up a plan that I thought we should run past you ladies."

"Oh, boy," Karen teased. Liam laughed along with the others in spite of himself.

"No, but really, what would you say to an evening out to eat at El Dante's? Just us 4-adults--" Karen stifled a laugh and Liam mock-glared back, "--no kids. After 10 months on the island doesn't that sound nice?"

"Yeah, I'm all for it. What do you say, Claire?" Karen easily agreed.

"Well, I've never left Aaron alone…"

"Oh, we have a wonderful baby-sitter. After dealing with spoiled little Megan she can handle anyone, especially a baby like Aaron," Karen assured Claire, and when the boys turned their heads to hear Claire's reply Karen mouthed, "This is your chance!"

"C'mon, Claire, you deserve a night of relaxation," Charlie chimed in.

"Okay, it should be nice not having to deal with Aaron for a night," Claire agreed, even more encouraged when Charlie gave her that smile that made her weak in the knees.

* * *

Karen and Claire were at the mirror in the upstairs bathroom, finishing up getting ready for their night out.

"I noticed that you were oh-so-eager to go out after Charlie said something, but not when I said something," Karen teased gently. Claire blushed knowing that there was a hint of truth in her teasing. "So, what happened at the park last night? I've been dying to ask you all day but Liam and Charlie were always around."

"What do you mean?" Claire asked innocently, looking at Karen through the mirror.

"Right when you got home you and Charlie went straight to bed. Even Liam noticed, you know it's pretty obvious then."

"Nothing happened. I was just tired."

"So nothing at all out of the ordinary happened? Just your regular run of the mill day? Because Charlie never sleeps. Something had to be bothering him which means something had to have happened."

"Well, he said something like "I've been meaning to talk to you" but he was cut off by someone's cell phone and when I asked him what it was he was saying he just said that it was nothing." There was that phrase she hated so much. It was nothing.

"Are you serious! How come you didn't mention this sooner!" Karen said getting very worked up over nothing.

"Well, like you said, Liam and Charlie were around all day and it didn't seem very important to me."

"Claire, c'mon, it was VERY important! Otherwise he would've told you what it was! For someone who likes him so much, you are really missing all the signals here! You really have me convinced you're trying to now!"

"Why would I purposely miss the signals?" Claire said. It was the dumbest thing she ever heard, she wanted to see the signals, why would she block them out?

"I never said it was on purpose, maybe you're doing it subconsciously. I mean, you really got hurt by Thomas, right? So maybe you've just trained your mind not to let guys in."

"If that's true then I'm doomed!"

"Well, don't worry too much. What Charlie was about to tell you was really important, so if he's going to do anything, it should be happening soon. But when it happens, don't push him away or block him out! Just let him know that you feel the same way, don't worry about what your head says anymore!"

"Okay, I think I'll be able to do that…if he makes the first move of course, and we don't know if he will or not."

"Don't worry, Claire, it will happen in no time, I'm sure of it."

* * *

The night had passed smoothly so far. Claire was finally relaxing and not worrying about how Aaron was or whether some monster was going to swoop out of nowhere and eat him. El Dante's was a very nice upscale restaurant with an aura of romance around it, you couldn't help but feel calm and at ease there. They had already ordered their food and were waiting to be served when Liam pulled Karen over to the dance floor. Charlie and Claire watched them for a minute and Charlie decided to finally get things sorted out.

"Would you like to dance?" Charlie asked Claire. Her face brightened and she nodded eagerly. He took her hand and led her to the floor, by the other couple but keeping his distance from Liam and Karen. They swayed slowly to the soft piano music, too caught up in the moment to say anything.

Claire was in total rapture to be this close to Charlie. She wanted nothing more than to make this spot in his arms to be hers, only hers. She could feel his heart beating against her own and his arms around her waist warmed her entire body. Everything about him was perfection, the curl of his hair, the intensity of his eyes, his breath on her neck; and being in his arms made her feel perfect too. She wanted to scream out and tell him that, and everything else that had been building up inside her, but her experiences with men and her memories of Thomas's betrayal made her bite back her words.

Meanwhile, Charlie was running through everything telling him that he should tell Claire, and that she would say yes. First, there was the journal, she said she liked him in there, but she never fully got her memory back, maybe those feelings didn't return either. Then there was what Liam had said, "She wanted the sex and babies too…" but that was speculation based upon the fact that she had sent him away so quickly the first night. But what if she had really just been tired? Liam's voice floated through his mind again, "Trust me, Charlie, you have a lot going for you. She wouldn't be living with you if she didn't like you." That was a good point, and Charlie and Claire were best of friends on the island, how much different could it be once they were together? Liam was right, she probably would give a relationship a shot. Now that he finally a positive outlook on his chances, all he had to do was talk to Claire and let it all out.

"Claire," he finally whispered in her ear, his heart racing, palms sweating, feeling about to faint.

"Hmm?" she said, pulling back a little to look in his eyes.

Thoughts on what to say next raced through his head, everything seemed so stupid, his mouth felt like cotton, words were getting trapped in his throat, finally more of Liam's advice came to the front of his mind, "If you're nervous or something, try telling her without words."

Finally, he just leaned in and caught her lips in his. Neither were conscious of the fact that they had stopped dancing, or that the song had ended, or that their food was being served, or that Liam and Karen were clapping and hollering and making themselves look like total fools; they were only conscious of each other, that finally things were falling into place, that finally something good was happening to them, that finally something felt right in their lives, and most importantly, that finally they knew how they felt about each other.

**The End**

...maybe

A/N- Okay, now you all have to review and let me know if you want me to continue with this story. I wrote that last paragraph a loooooong time ago intending for it to be the ending, because I really like it as an ending, but I'd be willing to continue with the story, because I really grew to like the story, but I'm not too sure where to go with it...because although I like reading fluffy smut, I hate it when I'm the one writing it...but if that's what the audience demands, I'll give it a go. So let me know!

To my lovely reviewers-

CCnJexie4ever- Yes, the kiss was long overdue, but I had to pull the classic, get inturrepted, lose courage trick...originally I didn't do that and this was the fourth chapter (obviously, some things were a little different) but I decided that it wasn't long enough...plus I have this weird OCD thing were I can only have stories with 1, 5, 10, 15, 20 chapters...etc. (Actually I'm not OCD, but in that sense I am) I really don't think to hard about whether or not the characters are acting like themselves, and I've gotten lots of compliments about how I keep them in character, so obviously I'm doing something right! But in this story I did think that Charlie and Liam were getting a little out of character...but then I realized, we really don't know Liam anyway! Well, review me with whether you think I should continue!

IluvLost9393- Thanks for reading and reviewing, and thanks for the compliment. I hope that Charlie and Claire get married and have lots of sex and babies to...but I've been hearing some nasty rumours that Claire's going to get killed off! I really hope that's just rumours though, I'll be so depressed if she's gone, it's not Lost without watching Charlie and Claire flirt and pray for them to kiss and get together!

naxa- Yes, I too thought that Charlie was getting insecure, but I had this written because of that, so I agree with you on all terms and hope that this chapter countered that insecurity from the last chapter. This was going to be Chapter Four but I decided it was too short and added in the real Chapter Four...blah blah. But thanks for the advice, it was much appreciated!

rockstarhobbit- Thanks for the review, luckily this update was a lot quicker than the other for you...now they're together and everyone should be happy, the people in the story and the ones reading it.

Mome-wrath- Hey, glad you liked the scene with Charlie, Liam and the stroller...I had to throw it in even though it was very cliche, because Liam was getting very serious to me (told you I have a serious mindset!) and that seemed like a way to lighten him up. Well, Charlie finally got the courage, and did something about it! Yay! So...yeah, review me and let me know what you think if I should continue or not...


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